Akeno prepared for battle.
Her uniform vanished, revealing her beautiful, voluptuous body. Whether intentional or not, she remained standing in the middle of the room, right in front of Daniel. She threw him a sidelong glance and a flirtatious smile—but when she noticed he was far more focused on Asia and Koneko, she clicked her tongue in disappointment.
With a soft sigh, she allowed her battle outfit to materialize over her body.
Now dressed in her shrine maiden attire, she approached Rias, who was still watching over the unconscious Issei.
"Are you ready? Good… looks like Issei won't be waking up anytime soon," Rias said as Akeno joined her. "Koneko, can you carry him?"
The white-haired girl, standing beside Daniel, didn't reply, but her eyes clearly showed reluctance.
Even so, she walked over and hoisted Issei onto her shoulder as if he were a sack of potatoes.
Rias couldn't help but smile wryly. She remembered seeing Koneko carry Daniel far more gently.
It seemed Issei was still a long way from earning that kind of treatment.
"Daniel, get ready. We don't know how many Fallen Angels are coming or how strong they'll be. I'll try to talk first—but if that fails, we'll have to fight," the redhead warned, folding her arms. "Your job is to protect Asia."
Daniel nodded. As everyone exited the house, he checked which cards he still had available.
The five-card limit was still fixed. Any Spell or Trap Cards he activated would be rendered unusable for the rest of the day once sent to the Graveyard.
He had already used Trap Hole and Fiendish Chain.
Since neither Ancient Gear Knight nor Ancient Gear Wyvern had been destroyed, both were still available for summoning.
His last card was a Spell—Ancient Gear Workshop—which allowed him to retrieve an Ancient Gear monster from his Graveyard and add it to his hand.
Unfortunately, since he didn't have any there, it was useless…
Outside, Daniel summoned the Wyvern, which emerged from the gray mist with a thunderous roar.
The metallic dragon spread its wings and surrounded the group, taking up a defensive position.
Daniel hesitated for a moment. He felt drained—he had summoned and activated too many cards that day.
His duel energy was nearly gone, and he had already started using demonic power.
As a newly reincarnated devil, his reserves weren't exactly vast.
"If there's no other choice… I'll use life energy," he muttered to himself.
Rias looked up at the sky. Before the group, several winged men and women appeared, descending with an air of superiority.
"Hehehe, kid, we meet again," said the tallest one with a crooked smile.
"Cut the chatter, Dohnaseek," said a petite blonde girl. "We're here to retrieve the nun. I knew we couldn't trust that perverted priest."
Dohnaseek ignored her, his eyes locked on Daniel with a glint of resentment.
Rias watched them coldly and sighed in quiet relief.
No Cadres. It won't be too hard to retreat, she thought.
"I regret to inform you that this lovely nun is now under my protection," she announced with icy composure. "So I suggest you turn back while you still can."
At her side, Akeno began gathering lightning in her hands as Rias continued:
"Otherwise, we'll be forced to attack. And given the chaos you've caused in my territory, we're more than motivated to do so."
"We have no interest in fighting the House of Gremory," Dohnaseek replied, tearing his gaze from Daniel. "As for the exorcist's rampage, that's not on us. He wasn't part of our group—he just volunteered to help."
"But that brat is ours," Mittelt interrupted arrogantly, her glare fixed on Asia. "If you don't want to start a faction war, hand her over. Do you really think the devils will protect you? Come here!"
Standing behind Daniel, Asia trembled slightly but didn't step back.
"I'm grateful that you accepted me… but I don't want to go with you," she said, clutching Daniel's sleeve as she remembered what Freed had done. "Killing innocent people… I can't stand it. I won't."
Mittelt's face twisted in anger.
"You have no right to decide! Come here right now, or you'll start a war!"
Rias cut her off sharply.
"Really? From your attitude, I'm starting to wonder… are you truly with Grigori?"
Dohnaseek clicked his tongue slowly.
It didn't look like they could take the nun—not without getting hurt.
The lightning girl was dangerous, and underestimating a noble of House Gremory, no matter how young, would be a mistake.
"Mittelt, we're leaving."
"What!? What will we tell Raynare-neesama!? We have to get that thing back!"
Dohnaseek shook his head.
Mittelt shot him a furious glare before turning and flying off with an angry snort.
Rias watched them vanish into the night sky. Crossing her arms, she thought to herself,
"If there aren't any Cadres involved… I'll purge those crows from my territory."
"Alright, let's go back," Rias said after a moment's thought. "Daniel's house is big enough; we'll head there."
Everyone nodded and began to walk. Daniel deactivated his Duel Disk while Koneko, still carrying Issei over her shoulder, moved to his side.
Asia clung tightly to Daniel's sleeve, and Akeno pouted slightly, disappointed that she hadn't gotten to roast any Fallen Angels.
---
Later, in a church on a hill, a group worked tirelessly under the moonlight.
Raynare stood watching, fury burning in her eyes.
"Damn it! Why do those filthy devils keep interfering!?" she shouted, smashing the pews in a fit of rage. "Mittelt! Didn't I tell you to bring that girl back!? If we lose Twilight Healing, everything we've worked for will be worthless!"
Dohnaseek chuckled quietly.
"I warned you about trusting that lunatic. The devils noticed because he went around killing humans."
Raynare clenched her teeth in rage. That bastard priest, she thought bitterly.
"Raynare-neesama, why don't we just steal the nun from the devils? It's not like they can guard her forever," suggested Mittelt.
"Makes sense, though we'll have to keep a close eye on them and strike at the right time," Dohnaseek added. "And if I get the chance to kill that brat, even better," he thought, remembering Daniel.
"Fine. Kalawarner, keep watch on the devils. The ritual is almost complete—once we get the nun back, I'll take her Sacred Gear and we'll withdraw."
Dohnaseek and Kalawarner nodded. Neither wanted to risk their necks any further. They had agreed to work with Raynare behind Grigori's back, and if they were discovered, they'd be punished. If the devils found out, they'd likely be killed on the spot.
Grigori wouldn't bother saving traitors—in fact, they might even thank the devils for taking care of the problem.